PADDLING ROUTE 8

Well, that was a workout!!  

This route is called Five-Mile Creek. You paddle about .6 nautical mile in open water to the main entrance to the creek. The Paddling Guide stated that the currents can get strong at full moons. He was not joking! We were going in on a flood tide and the wind behind us. It was great, very relaxing, with very little paddling, just basically keeping the nose pointed in the right direction. 

And then we turned around to start back. HOLY CRAP! It was hard work and very slow going. Sheri and I had to stop a couple times to rest and catch our breath. Sheri's boyfriend went with us this time, and he stayed at the entrance and fished while we paddled on. 

As we were coming back to the entrance, I heard yelling... like happy yelling. I looked up and saw two skydivers. The Sugarloaf airport is just a quarter mile from the entrance. The wind was whipping them around pretty good. Looked a little scary to me. That is an adventure I don't think I could do. I have a problem with heights. However, when I did the Zipline in Costa Rica, I thought that was fun.

Route #8, check. 
This is one route that is best done with little wind and at slack tide. 

ROUTE #12

The wind forcaster lied! 10 mph... Pfft, I saw whitecaps! And there was foam on the ramp.

The plan was to leave the boat ramp on Blimp road and head NW hugging the shoreline. The Paddling Guide said to make a left after the last WARNING sign. Well, I think the landscape has changed slightly between the time this book was written and now.... and I think Irma could have helped with sign removal too. I knew that the map in the book, and Google had discrepancies. So, I thought I would be smart and make a rough map from Google, and trace the route on it. HAHAHAHAHA. It was a good plan, but things look so much differently when you are actually THERE on the water. Sheri and I decided to just go where we wanted to.

We had to stop and take a water break.

The road leading to the boat ramp is called Blimp Road, because that is where FAT ALBERT lives. The blimp, known as FAT ALBERT, is a Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) in military parlance, is part of an Air Force program. Albert keeps an eagle eye on air and sea traffic from the Caribbean Sea to Tampa Bay.

Fat Albert in the background.

If the wind gets too strong, they bring him down. That should have been our first clue that the wind was stronger than forecasted. But, we wandered around the mangroves for awhile. Didn't see many fish. Scared up a couple stingrays, and saw one small nurse shark. 

A few years ago I had picked out a handheld GPS that I was going to buy. Life got in the way and I did not get it. Until today, I didn't think I really needed one. But again, I will start shopping for something so  I can chart routes. 

PADDLING NEW ROUTES

A friend recommended this paddling guide. There is a list of launch sites and routes. Each route gives you details, such as the length of the route and what you might see.

My goal is to paddle every route. This weekend, my friend Sheri and I paddled ROUTE #14. The water was like glass and it was a very easy and relaxing 3 mile paddle. The hardest part of this route was the launch. I'm not as agile as I once was, so boarding the kayak is not graceful. I knew the day would come when I turned over my kayak, and this was that day. 

This route is in very shallow water, and we did not expect to see all the fish that we did. We scared many nurse sharks, hammerhead sharks, stingrays, a few barracuda and saw a couple tarpon in the deeper section of the route. 

This guy never moved, just posed for his picture, and let Sheri pass right next to him.

It was a beautiful morning. Route #14... check.